Kabaddi
PKL 2021: 5 lesser known facts about the Kabaddi journey of Pardeep Narwal
Here, we take a look at 5 lesser-known facts about PKL's star raider Pardeep Narwal.
Pardeep Narwal became the first player to cross the 1200 point mark in PKL
Pardeep Narwal has established a legacy in Kabaddi which is a dream for every budding raider aspires to reach. The UP Yoddha raider recently crossed the humongous milestone of 1200 PKL career raid points. His incredible career numbers include 61 Super 10s with a 76.87% raid strike rate. So let's have a look at the 5 unknown facts about the journey of the most successful raider in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League.
1. Discipline leading towards success
Pardeep is known for his discipline on the grandest stage of Kabaddi. The 24-year-old credits his coaches Naresh Narwal and Ram Mehar Singh for his austerity. He is fond of playing under the guidance of such rampant coaches. He also tolerated brutal punishments from his childhood coach Naresh Narwal and utilised the fire in his raiding skills. Pardeep believes that flogging helped him to concentrate on his ultimate dream from a very young age.
2. Narwal Kabaddi Academy
Naresh Narwal also owns a residential Kabaddi academy which is named after his scholar Pardeep. The residential academy was established in 2018 to find another Pardeep Narwal. The campus has hostel facilities with a capacity of around a hundred students at a time. Pardeep along with Rakesh Narwal and Joginder Narwal regularly give visits to the academy to encourage the stars of tomorrow.
3. Almost joined Dabang Delhi
The young Pardeep Narwal was approached by the Dabang Delhi side for the second season of the Pro Kabaddi League. But, that move was intercepted by Manjeet Chhillar and Joginder Narwal who convinced Pardeep and Rakesh Narwal to join the Bulls. As a senior, Joginder was someone whom Pardeep trusted wholeheartedly during the initial stages of his career. And that's how Pardeep's Pro Kabaddi League journey started with Bengaluru Bulls instead of the capital franchise.
4. The reason behind the forgettable debut season
Many Pro Kabaddi fans still wonder about the failure of the league's most successful raider in his debut. Pardeep managed to score only nine raid points in seven appearances of that season. He suffered from a toe injury just right before the commencement of the second season. Pardeep passed the whole 2015 campaign in recovering from that injury. Hence teenaged Pardeep failed to live up to his potential and left the franchise to join Patna Pirates in the following season.
5. Pardeep's Idol
Pardeep took up this sport after getting inspired by Kuldeep Singh Narwal who also hails from the same locality. He grew playing alongside his idol in local Kabaddi in Rindhana in the pre-PKL era. Interestingly, Pardeep was accompanied by three Rindhana players (Kuldeep Singh, Surjeet Singh, Anil Narwal) in season four triumphant campaign of Patna Pirates.
